Decorate Your Home with Trompe L'oeil: On Walls, Furniture, Frames & More [Paperback]

Jocelyn Kerr Holding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2001

“An unusually good survey of the techniques for decorative trompe l’oeil....Projects...go from painted stones, to decorative panels, to classical forms like arches and columns...accomplished by projecting photographs on a wall, free hand, with stencils, or photocopies.”—Library Journal. “Supplies information on perspective, color, techniques, and architectonic and scenic methods.” —Booklist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

To truly fool the eye, trompe l'oeil painting must display convincing perspective, proper depth of field, and a credible play of light and shadow. Jocelyn Kerr Holding carefully explores these principles and many more, with detailed explanations of all the basic considerations behind the creation of a trompe l'oeil image and the various techniques available for achieving it, including perforating an existing drawing, painting freehand, projecting a photograph, and using photocopies in a decoupage manner. Despite the "quick and easy" promise of the book's title, however, many beginners will be intimidated by the process as presented here, since Holding offers no patterns (other than a small section of architectural motifs for photocopying) and presumes an existing comfort level with the handling of paint and perspective on the part of the reader to achieve, in her words, "a freehand reproduction of reality." But those seeking a decent primer on the art of trompe l'oeil will find much useful information here, along with some nicely rendered eye-fooling images of book- and object-filled shelves, landscape views, and animals. --Amy Handy --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Holding's title is somewhat of an oxymoron--or, at the very least, could only be seriously applied to those readers with at least basic artistic talent. For "quick and easy," after all, are not appropriate descriptors for trompe l'oeil, the craft of creating realistic, three-dimensional illustrations on two-dimensional painted surfaces. Also, this collection is the result of faux malachite and faux marble that artisans such as Jocasta Innes have long popularized. The author supplies information on perspective, color, techniques, and architectonic and scenic methods. The end product? A half-dozen respectable projects to copy, along with real yearning for more information, more process-oriented items, and more details. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (December 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080697141X
• ISBN-13: 978-0806971414
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,346,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fool the Reader, January 1, 2001

By 

Stephen C. Lott (Pensacola, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quick & Easy Trompe L'oeil: Decorative Painting on Walls, Furniture, Frames & More (Hardcover)

Jocelyn Kerr Holding's book is misleading and insulting with it's self-presentation as a"Quick & Easy" how-to book. In her chapter titled "Easy Trompe L'Oeil" She has the nerve to say "With those of you tackling this technique for the first time in mind, I decided to describe six easy projects simple to draw and amusing to do. The "step-by-step" explinations which follow have been written...so they can be carried out without too many dificulites". But her steps are vauge and useless, rarely haveing more than four steps. You can not learn how to paint wood grain or marble in four steps, although marble is presented here in three meaningless steps. So as a learning tool this book is useless. I would recommend instead Trompe L'Oeil Creating Decorative Illusions with Paint by Roberta Gordon-Smith or Painting Murals by Patricia Seligman, for new muralist. However, if you are a skilled artist versed in most forms of Trompe L'oeil, but are looking for classic examples of the technique, there are some lovely examples in this book. I'm keeping my copy as refrence material, which is how it should have been presented.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding how-to guide to decorative painting, April 29, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quick & Easy Trompe L'oeil: Decorative Painting on Walls, Furniture, Frames & More (Hardcover)

Quick & Easy Trompe I'Oeil is an outstanding how-to guide to decorative painting on walls, furniture and even bricks and presents easy step-by-step techniques for using the trompe i'oeil technique. A range of examples of pictorial art from all styles, from still life to Surrealistic paintings, provide painters with many different ideas to choose from, while the techniques are easy to follow and duplicate. Color photos pack the presentation.